The Brooklyn Nets, an American pro-basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), play in the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team is based in the Barclays Center in the New York borough of Brooklyn. This is one of two teams based in New York, the other being the New York Knicks.
The Brooklyn Nets were originally founded as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, the NBA’s rival league, in 1967. The Nets were originally based in New Jersey as the New Jersey Americans. Ownernship based the team in Teaneck, New Jersey for the ABA’s 1967/68 season. The tenure there proved to be a short one. In 1968, they relocated to Long Island, New York and became the New York Nets – winning two ABA championships during this period (in 1974 and 1976). However, during the merger of the ABA and NBA, the Nets became a part of the NBA.
The Nets, who became the New Jersey Nets in 1977, have continued to play in the New York metropolitan area. They reached the NBA finals in 2001/02 and in 2002/03. In 2012, they relocated to Brooklyn and have been known as the Brooklyn Nets since that time. Overall, the team has won two ABA Championship finals but no NBA Championships. They have won two Conference titles and five Division titles –- once in the ABA and 4 times in the NBA.
Interesting Facts
During one game, Jason Kidd deliberately spilt a drink in order to get a time out. Although many found this highly amusing, the league considered it cheating and punished him for doing so.
The Brooklyn Nets and the 2023 NBA Draft
The 2022/23 NBA season was just short of a disaster for Brooklyn. The team fired its coach, Steve Nash, early in the season. Next, Kyrie Irving was a part of some drama involving social media. Star player Kevin Durant was traded to Phoenix and Irving went to Dallas and made poor statements about his time in Brooklyn.
The Nets made the playoffs, perhaps redeeming their season a little bit. Furthermore, the campaign saw the emergence of Cam Thomas as a good player in the league. However, for a team that was thought to be a contender, the Nets had a quiet season.
The Brooklyn Nets had two first-round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, which took place on Thursday, June 22nd, 2023. The Nets selected Noah Clowney with the 21st pick and Dariq Whitehead with the 22nd pick. They also had a second-round pick in the draft. With this pick, they took Jalen Wilson. These players will join a franchise that many consider to be an underachieving one.
Will the Nets be the ones to beat in the 2023/24 season? It will mark the first full season for Jacque Vaughn, the team’s coach that replaced Steve Nash early last season. Spencer Dinwiddie, Ben Simmons, Mikal Bridges, and Cameron Thomas look to form the nucleus of the team in 2023/24. At first glance, the Nets look like a middle power for the upcoming NBA season.
Brooklyn Nets: Management and Coaching
Ownership: Joseph Tsai
CEO: Sam Zussman
General Manager: Sean Marks
Head Coach: Jacque Vaughn
Current Brookly Nets Players Under Contract
Here are the signed players for the Brooklyn Nets, not including their recent draft picks mentioned above. All contract details are from Spoctrac.com.
- Ben Simmons (Point Guard , 26 years old). Signed until 2025.
- Mikal Bridges (Small Forward, 26 years old). Signed until 2026.
- Joe Harris (Shooting Guard, 31 years old). Signed until 2024.
- Dorian Finney-Smith (Power Forward, 30 years old). Signed until 2026.
- Spencer Dinwiddie (Point Guard, 30 years old). Signed until 2024.
- Royce O’Neale (Small Forward, 30 years old). Signed until 2024.
- Nicolas Claxton (Center, 24 years old). Signed until 2024.
- Patty Mills (Point Guard, 34 years old). Signed until 2024.
- Cameron Thomas (Shooting Guard, 21 years old). Signed until 2025.
- Day’Ron Sharpe (Center, 21 years old). Signed until 2025.
- Edmond Sumner (Shooting Guard, 27 years old). Signed until 2025.
The Nets appear to be deep in quality guards. Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Cameron Thomas are guards that are all capable of starting. Furthermore, one of their draft picks, Dariq Whitehead, is a guard.
Previous Brooklyn Nets Draft Selections Since 2000
Year Round Pick Player Pos Age Pre-Draft Team
2023 1 21 Noah Clowney PF 18 Alabama
2022 NO PICKS
2021 1 27 Cam Thomas SG 19 LSU
2020 1 19 Saddiq Bey F 21 Villanova
2020 2 55 Jayden Scrubb SG 20 John A Logan
2019 1 17 N.Alexander Walker SG 21 Virginia Tech
2019 1 27 Mfiondu Kabengele SF 21 Florida State
2019 2 31 Nicolas Claxton C 20 Georgia
2018 1 29 Dzanan Musa SG 19 Cedevita (Croatia)
2018 2 40 Rodions Kurucs SF 20 Barca (Spain)
2018 2 45 Hamidu Diallo SG 19 Kentucky
2017 1 22 Jarrett Allen C 19 Texas
2017 1 27 Kyle Kuzma F 21 Utah
2017 2 57 Sasha Vezenkov PF 21 FC Barcelona II (Spain)
2016 2 55 Marcus Paige G 22 North Carolina
2015 1 29 Chris McCullough PF 20 Syracuse
2015 2 41 Pat Connaughton SF 22 Notre Dame
2013 1 22 Mason Plumlee PF 23 Duke
2012 2 57 Ilkan Karaman F 22 Pinar Karsiyaka (Turkey)
2011 1 27 JaJuan Johnson FC 22 Purdue
2011 2 36 Jordan Williams PF 20 Maryland
2010 1 3 Derrick Favors FC 18 Georgia Tech
2010 1 27 Jordan Crawford G 21 Xavier
2010 2 31 Tiboe Pleiss C 20 Brose Baskets Bamberg (Ger)
2009 1 11 Terence Williams GF 21 Louisville
2008 1 10 Brook Lopez C 20 Stanford
2008 1 21 Ryan Anderson PF 20 California
2008 2 40 C. Douglas Roberts SF 21 Memphis
2007 1 17 Sean Williams C 20 Boston College
2006 1 22 Marcus D Williams G 20 Connecticut
2006 1 23 Josh Boone C 21 Connecticut
2006 2 54 Hassan Adams G 22 Arizona
2005 1 15 Antoine Wright GF 21 Texas A&M
2005 2 43 Mile Ilic C 21 KK FMP (Serbia)
2004 1 22 Viktor Khryapa PF 21 CSKA Moscow (Russia)
2004 2 51 Christian Drerjer F 21 Barca (Spain)
2003 1 22 Zoran Planinic GF 20 Khimki (Russia)
2003 2 51 Kyle Korver SF 22 Creighton
2002 1 24 Nenad Krstic C 18 KK Partizan
2002 2 53 Tamar Slay GF 22 Marshall
2001 1 7 Eddie Griffin F 19 Seton Hall
2001 2 34 Brian Scalabrine PF 23 USC
2000 1 1 Kenyon Martin F 22 Cincinnati
2000 2 36 Soumaila Samake C 22 Cincinnati Stuff (US)
